Postdoctoral Research Associate In Environmental Microbiology And Data Analysis

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- Information Page The Role and Department The Department of Biosciences is composed of 62 academic staff and research fellows; around 50 research and technical support staff; over 90 Research Postgraduate students and over 500 Single Honours undergraduate students, and also teaches students from the Natural Sciences programme.
The Department is committed to an ethos of research-led teaching at both BSc and MBiol levels, and was ranked 5th in the UK for Biological Sciences Departments in the Complete University Guide 2024.
Our basic science underpins applications across each-and-every sector of the bio-economy, including Biotechnology, Ecology and Agritechnology.
Research programmes are grouped in the following areas: Molecular Plant Sciences; Biomolecular Interactions; Ecology, Evolution and Environment; and Animal Cells and Systems.
These groups organise focused seminar series, Research Away Days, manage joint research facilities, oversee mentoring, internal peer review and serve to nucleate larger research projects.
Along with our excellent research facilities such as bioimaging, proteomics, metabolomics and genomics we offer a high quality and supportive environment for our research staff.
The Dept.
of Biosciences partners with other areas of research strength in Durham University including Computational Sciences and Chemistry, and encourages multidisciplinary research for Health and Wellbeing.
Durham University was listed in the Times Higher World Top 50 Life Science Challengers (July 2017).
The Department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award.
Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognises the advancement of gender equality, representation and progression.
The Department embraces excellence in all of its forms and invites all qualified applicants to apply.
We particularly welcome applications from women and black and minority ethnic candidates who are under-represented in the academic sector.
The Role Applications are invited for a motivated Postdoctoral Research associate in environmental microbiology and bioinformatics with a particular emphasis on wastewater-based epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the research project "TEXAS- Towards next-generation AMR surveillance: Assessment of novel technologies with high-throughput and multiplexing potential" a Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR).
TEXAS aims to develop and validate promising technological platforms that can be readily incorporated into national and international integrated surveillance programs.
Therefore, the candidate will work with Dr Marcos Quintela-Baluja and Professor David W. Graham in a global team with institutions from five countries (AU, CAN, ISRL, SA and UK).
The successful applicant will be expected to collaborate closely with other TEXAS members to generate and analyse large environmental metagenome collections to understand the co-occurrence and evolution of antimicrobial resistance.
Key responsibilities: To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that leads to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.
To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
To be involved in student supervision, as appropriate, and assist with the assessment of the knowledge of students.
To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
To engage in continuing professional development by participation in the undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees, etc.
and by attending relevant training and development courses.
This post is fixed term for 20 months to coincide with the duration of the existing funding.
There is the possibility of an extension beyond this period, if additional funding can be secured.
The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague.
Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.
Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by January 2025.
Working at Durham A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits: • 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year.
• The University closes between Christmas and New Year • We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.
We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.
There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.
All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community • Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.
If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do.
We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct.
At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
It's important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.
We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.
If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application.
The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.
The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status.
If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process.
We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
Contact Information Department contact for academic-related enquiries Dr Marcos Quintela-Baluja (******) Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email.
Please send your name along with abrief description of the problem you're experiencing ****** Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK.
This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.
We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).
University contact for general queries about the recruitment process How to Apply To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below.
It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Submitting your application We prefer to receive applications online.
We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.
Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
What to Submit All applicants are asked to submit: a CV and cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out below.
Next Steps Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.
The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview.
We anticipate the assessments and interviews will occur over two days in or around the 13th December 2024.
In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data.
We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
Person Specification Essential Criteria: Qualifications A good first degree in a STEM discipline.
A PhD (or be close to submission) in the study of antimicrobial resistance or a related subject.
Experience Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
Demonstrable ability to present research papers at national and international conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
Experience in nucleic acids extraction, PCR-related techniques (qPCR, HT-qPCR), and data analysis using HPC (R and Unix languages required).
Skills Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Desirable Criteria Experience Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.
Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills e.g.
acting as a demonstrator; supervising student projects/practicals.
Experience in NGS library preparation and data analysis using Python Skills Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.